An octogenarian is to take Apple to court after a visit to one of the computer company's glass-fronted stores put her nose out of joint - literally.
The 83-year-old New Yorker walked slap bang into one of stores' see-through doors and broke her nose, she claims.
Now, Evelyn Paswall, 83, has asked for $75,000 (£47,000) in …

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Re: Lucky lady

Elderly bones can be rather fragile. The septum (which I assume got broken) is not very strong to begin with. It is the only bone I have broken, and I can tell you it is pretty painful. Having it set is not fun either.

I really do not know what happened, so I will not jump to conclusions.

sounds to me

Apple

Again, "design" over utility. Glass doors that you can't see because they "look" nice. Anyone else remember having to drag the CD icon to the Wastebin icon in order to eject a CD? And there being NO other way of doing so should the computer fail?

Glass panels can easily be totally invisible, and if they were in the shop window, I'd say tough. It should have been obvious that they were there even if you couldn't see them. But if they were in the doorways, that's just another You've Been Framed conservatory-door waiting to happen. Sometimes you just CANNOT see them and if you don't expect them to be there, you can do damage.

That said, warning stickers already present and breaking your nose? Sorry. I don't buy it. They either had the warning stickers or didn't, and you either accidentally walked into it or you ran full-pelt into the damn thing. Worst I imagine happening would be a bruised ego and maybe a nosebleed if you're particularly sensitive to them, and if you're 83 I doubt that a turn of speed was entirely sensible and maybe your eyesight IS already failing.

In the school I work in, we had to put stickers at eye-height on things that were clear-glass, even if they were in a 3-foot-wide frame and quite clearly a door. I'm not sure if that was H&S-mongery or whether there's actually something about it in the law.

But, honestly, why do you WANT whole-glass fronts? The Apple shops are bare enough of product as it is without advertising the fact. And if you do have thousands of *THE* most expensive product out there, it might be an idea to use something unbreakable too, rather than a 20-foot-long pane of glass.

Re: Apple

Re: Apple

"Anyone else remember having to drag the CD icon to the Wastebin icon in order to eject a CD? And there being NO other way of doing so should the computer fail?"

Er, no. Apple's optical drives had small holes you could poke a (straightened) safety pin—or something of similar size and shape—through to open a stuck drive. You may not have noticed, but the exact same holes could be found on PC optical drives too as a backup for the usual eject buttons. Optical drives are an unusual example of a "soft-eject" design on a standard PC component.

Whenever possible, Apple will always opt for a software eject mechanism for all external storage media, including floppy disks, so that the user is never, ever, faced with a "WTF? I was WRITING to that medium, you idiot! PUT IT BACK!" -type error message. You know: the same message you get when your parent yanks out a USB flash drive or memory card without first 'ejecting' it in the OS first. This is, incidentally, why the iPhone and iPad are unlikely to ever include support for removable storage like SD Cards: a motorised software-controlled SD Card ejection mechanism would simply take up too much space.

*

As for the case of "83-year-old chancer Vs. Glass door": this store has been on that site for some years now. It's also in New York, a city in a nation not known for its excellent, clear, street design, let alone shop fronts. (Seriously: I've been to a couple of US cities and both looked like they were vomited out of a planning office on a Friday afternoon. You couldn't have made San Francisco look visually messier if you tried.)

Apple are hardly the only company to have ever used all-glass frontages. This is not "design over function". Applying force to a glass door will open it, just like any other door. If the door fails to move, you're supposed to stop pushing. Not simply hurl your entire body at it. Most people these days know how doors work. Especially 83-year-old people who must have visited many, many shops in their lifetimes.

Here in Italy, at the Apple Store in Rome's RomaEst shopping centre, not only is the frontage all glass, but there aren't even any stickers or notices on them. They're still not that hard to spot. Even the clearest, glare-free-est of glass frontages has some reflections that will give you the visual cues you need. And there's also the small matter of the gaps between each pane. Both elements are clearly visible even in your linked photograph.

Ergo, the woman was either an imbecile, or she is blind / vision-impaired. Neither is Apple's problem. I have lousy eyesight, but that just means I have to spend money on glasses. What I don't get to do is demand the world bows to my (minor) disability: I'm in a minority here. It's my responsibility to ensure I am capable of interfacing with the real world. It is not the rest of the world's responsibility to ensure it is capable of interfacing with me. That way, only madness lies.

A million bucks

Re: A million bucks

Someone should have checked her purse for a ballpeen hammer. No ones nose could have made a hole that big without seriously getting cut up on the face. There should be blood all over the glass. Maybe that is Zimmerman's granny??

A friend did the same- long ago

Bi - Before iPhone - or mobiles for that matter, a friend of mine did similar damage accidentally walking into a glass door in Debenhams in Ipswich. It shattered spectecularly in two places caused by his head and knee.

He fell down and staff rushed to his assistance - he escaped serious injury but felt like a bit of a dick.

He didn't sue, he was just happy they didn't come after him for a new door.

I'm surprised....

... its taken this long for something like this to happen, I hate Glass! its the bane of my life!

For those with low vision, its not easy to see this transparent materiel ;)

I can not tell you how many glass doors, display cabinets and tables I have walked into because I couldn't see them, but have to admit non have ever broken or caused me more than than a bruise or slight embarrassment :)

I think that shows the different between the UK and US, if this happened in the UK there would be no payout and everyone would be happy there was no serious injuries, however in the US.... Sue city!

But then, if it stops retail outlets using unmarked glass doors, then all good.

Re: I'm surprised....

I have poor vision: both strong astigmatism and myopia.

I have never walked into a glass door, window, or anything else. There are these things called "glasses". You might want to try some. They're awfully good. (I still stub my toe against low furniture on occasion as I need different glasses for close vision and distance vision and don't usually wear the latter pair indoors. Even so, it's pretty easy to remember where stuff is and avoid hitting it again next time.)

If your vision is so badly impaired that not even glasses can help you function in the outside world, I suggest you invest in a white cane and / or a guide dog. Either that, or find a better optician.

Re: I'm surprised....

Hum, shows how little you (and most others unfortunately) know about eye sight problems doesn't it!? I hear this all the time, "oh way don't you wear glasses", like oh why didn't I think of that! its because, if the brain can not receive a good signal because the eyes (not just the lens, which is the only thing Glasses correct, btw), is damaged then there is bugger all that can be done!

I have Complex Microphthalmos, Coloboma, Nystagmus, Glaucoma as well as loosing most of the retina from my right eye, as well as having my lens removed and the eye filled with oil to keep what's left of my retina back, thanks to it detaching a few years ago, how much difference do you think Glasses are really going to make! You Idiot!

Apple iDoor - 'It just whacks...'

More thinking required

In Germany you often see silhouettes of hawks stuck on glass windows to stop other birds flying into windows. Obviously what you need here is a silhouette of something that will repel the poor lady. Answers on a postcard please ...

PS. Just to clarify, we don't superglue real hawks to the windows, only black plastic shapes.

They're called "manifestations"

Re: Prison would fix this

"This woman does not belong in society. She is morally defective and, yes I will say it, Evil. You would be hard pressed to find a more clear cut example of the victim mentality than this pitiful excuse for human flotsam. And Bollocks to she's 83! She was a conniving bitch at 23, I assure you!"

Name

Please let me be the first to notice that the name of the lady who walked into the glass was "Paswall".....

Anyway, I've done this myself at a hostel when some asshat closed a glass patio door behind me when I want to the loo. There were no stickers on it and it was very clean so obscured almost no light and thus I walked directly into it on my return.

I got a great laugh out of it and some bent specs but had it broken I'd have been suing the hostel.

Lawsuit...

In other news ...

83 year old man's family sues after he makes a hard right turn mid-span on the Golden Gate Bridge, falling to his death in the icy waters of the Golden Gate. Why take it before the Beak? Because there are no signs mid-span saying "no right turn".

Injury Lawyers

Ridiculous

Typical american ambulance chaser type. Glass doors are in use throughout the world, because they look good, and give prospective customers a clearer view of the inside of the store, helping to draw them in.

They also almost universally have a handle of some sort on them (IIRC, apple's have the standard metal bar across the front), so you can push/pull the door without smudging the glass, so they're not invisible. One would think that the handle floating in mid-air would be a tipoff, even to those with poor vision - unless of course they're not looking where they're going.